Review Detail

Very fine handling of the CGI cringe-fest of the theatrical version of the Middle Earth opus The Hobbit. Stromboli's is a noteworthy addition to the efforts among the educated fan-base to turn a turgid slab of marble into a beautiful statue.

Most omissions are timely and well considered although I have a minor issue with the sudden appearance of Orcs in the final battle, a direct result of the expunging of the Azog subplot from the original film. There is a common shared view between fan editors of the Hobbit trilogy that Azog is a foreign, Peter Jackson-imported element in the saga which is of course true if one wishes to stick to the novel but in the context of the films Azog served as a primary antagonist whose presence haunted the company climaxing into the Orc attack. Therefore the final confrontation between Thorin and Azog comes naturally and not somewhat abruptly as in this and other fan edits. Besides, Azog is shot in a way that indicates a pretty important big shot (not a replaceable Orc commander like Gothmog in The Return of the King). Probably no editing can change that.

Nevertheless, this edit made me appreciate the film infinitely more. The Hobbit is essentially a road story, much like The Fellowship of the Ring (in my view the best of the LotR trilogy) and this cut certainly comes close to the task of elevating the commercialized Hobbit trilogy to the quality ranks of the latter film. The episodic format the editor follows was quite clever and fitting to the structure of the story and it helped neutralize some editing issues like the transition from film 1 to film 2 of the trilogy. This fan edit is undoubtedly a work of great care and love. I feel, however, that the ultimate The Hobbit fan edit, is yet to be found.